PITTSBURGH — One day, J.J. and T.J. Watt hope to become the first brothers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For now, though, they are delighted to be the first brothers on a Wheaties box together.
Look for it in a supermarket near you in August.
“Super excited,” Trent Jordan Watt said on Twitter last week, announcing their selection for the famed box. “It means you’re doing something right.”
“Iconic brand,” Justin James Watt said in his own tweet. “Breakfast of Champions. The box every athlete wants to be on as a kid. You dream about it growing up.”
Each of the tweets was hilarious.
“Ah, c’mon, T.J. is on the box,” J.J. said, taking a deep, frustrated breath as he looked disgustedly at the box. “Three defensive player of the year awards. He’s got one, and we share the box? It’s still awesome, but I’m going to have a conversation with somebody at Wheaties about this.”
Not to be outdone …
“The guy doesn’t play football anymore,” T.J. said, rolling his eyes.
Brothers.
Always competing.
Especially these two.
Wheaties has been putting athletes on its cereal box since 1934, when Lou Gehrig was its first selection. Michael Jordan has been on the box the most times, 18.
Olympic champions generally are honored by Wheaties, but Pittsburgh has been well represented over the years. You might guess many of the honorees. They include Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Barry Bonds, Roberto Clemente and Stan Musial, just to name a few.
Two of my favorite boxes featured the Penguins. Tom Barrasso was shown hoisting the Stanley Cup, surrounded by teammates, after the team won the Cup in 1991. After the Penguins won again in 1992, Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux were featured with the headline, “Two Great Hockey Champions.”
Great champions, indeed.
The Watts belong on the Wheaties box even if neither has won a Super Bowl or even played in one.
As J.J. mentioned, he has those three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. That is an accomplishment matched only by Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald. J.J. also is the only player in NFL history with multiple 20-sack seasons, doing it in 2012 and 2014. Only 12 players have had 20-plus sacks. J.J. had 114.5 sacks when he retired after the 2022 season.
T.J., 28, has 77.5 sacks but is far from finished. His 22.5 sacks in 2021 matched Michael Strahan’s single-season NFL record set in 2001. T.J. was defensive player of the year in 2021 after finishing second in the voting in 2020 and third in 2019.
J.J. is a lock for the Hall of Fame. No one would blink if they waived the five-year waiting period for enshrinement for him. His off-the-field work enhances his resume in a big way. He won the Walter Payton Award for community service in 2017 and was Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year that same year after raising more than $37 million to aid victims from Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the Houston area.
T.J. still has some work to do. It would benefit his cause if he helped the Steelers, you know, actually win a playoff game. His postseason record is 0-3.
The Watts aren’t the only brothers trying to make Hall of Fame history.
Bruce Matthews was inducted in 2007. His brother, Clay Jr., is a semifinalist in the Seniors Division this year.
Peyton Manning was enshrined in 2021. His brother, Eli, is eligible to make the Hall in 2025.
Travis and Jason Kelce are considered locks but both still are playing, Travis with the Chiefs and Jason with the Eagles.
The race is on.
